I read Reginald Braithwaite’s tweet about people who work long hours and their success. Some of the comments discuss not just the single parent, but the support system all successful people need. We have a myth (at least in the US) that we can succeed all on our own. We can’t. We need other people […]
Who Is Part of Your Support System? Read More »
I’m gathering my data from this past year to prepare for my strategy for next year. I gather quantitative data about books, workshops, talks, and more. I assess my feelings as I finished my various work—the qualitative data. And, I note what I didn’t do. I gather this data every quarter. I actually note what
How Often Do You Reflect? Read More »
As I’ve written these tips, I’ve offered possible ways to see your actions and maybe even your life. That’s because adaptability is the ability to recognize an altered situation. (Our resilience is how fast we are able to choose other actions to respond to that altered situation.) I need to consider my “why,” my purpose,
CAL Tip #15: Define Your Purpose, Your Why Read More »
I’ve been pushing myself to get the second book of the Modern Management Made Easy triad ready for my technical reviewers. I found a ton of little problems and then I realized I had several big problems. I needed to redesign—and rewrite—the first and last chapters. This happens to me a lot when I write
How Do You Feel When You Achieve a Significant Milestone? Read More »
You might have heard the apocryphal story about a landscape architect and shortcuts. The architect doesn’t put sidewalks or trails in a large green space. Instead, he waits for a year as walk across the space. He then puts the sidewalks/trails where the people walk. I am not quite ancient-history-years-old. I have never seen this
When Does a Shortcut Make Sense? Read More »
On my way to an appointment the other day, I saw traffic backed up. The left lanes—the through lanes—looked stuck. I signaled and turned to get into the middle lane. That lane was stuck, too, so I signaled and turned to the right lane. I zoomed through in just a minute. The other drivers behind
When Does it Make Sense to Change Your Lane? Read More »
I’ve been following the issues and the punishments in the college admissions scandal. If you’re not based in the US, you might have missed this. The idea is that wealthy parents bribed and cheated their children’s way into elite schools. I’m not going to discuss the scandal itself. This post is about understanding the culture
What Do We Choose to Reward and Punish? Read More »
I was on vacation last week, in Eilat Israel, a tourist destination. Because it’s a tourist town, you can see a lot of street art. On my walk this past Saturday (Shabbat) morning, I heard loud music with a great drumbeat. My first reaction was, “How loud! On Shabbat!” Then, I turned the corner and
When Are You Willing to Practice in Public? Read More »
I’ve learned a ton about software projects. One thing I know is that any project that uses continuous integration (agile or not) has a better chance of succeeding. Not a guarantee, but a much better chance. I’ve learned other things I find necessary for successful software projects. Two of my favorites are the need for
Are You Too Busy to Continue Learning? Read More »
When I was a kid, my entire family was confused by a guy in the neighborhood. He never seemed happy. He always seemed to have a big sigh or some kind of complaint. I think my dad started this theory: the neighborhood guy was the kind of person who went down into the basement to have his
CAL Tip #14: Bring Your Sense of Humor Out of the Basement Read More »